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The Toronto Raptors must stay the course with Pascal Siakam

By Jason Mills

Mar 31, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) dribbles the ball up the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) dribbles the ball up the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 11: Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Struggle breeds success

There is a great 1997 commercial involving the GOAT of the NBA, Michael Jordan. In that commercial, Jordan details his failures. He had missed over 9,000 shots, lost close to 300 games, 26 times he was trusted to take the game-winning shot and failed, and he had failed over and over again in his life. His narration ends with the line,” and that’s why I succeed.”

Professional sports are unique because players succeed at what would be considered a failure rate in other aspects of life. Not because it’s easy but because it’s hard. It takes hard work and dedication to fight through fatigue, distractions, opponents, and sometimes pain to produce the perfect play, game, or season.

This season, in addition to any perceived struggles, Siakam had to battle COVID-19 this season. With COVID-19 a relatively new virus in relative terms, there are not many who can equate what it feels like to try and maintain a professional athletic schedule while coping with the effects of this virus.

Pascal Siakam needs to recover from COVID-19 fully.

Rudy Gobert, whose positive test for COVID-19 in March of 2020, is a testament to how life-changing the virus can be. As he stated months after, he could still not smell properly. It is somewhat difficult to make an objective and fair assessment of Skiakam’s season between late February and now when COVID-19 ripped through the Raptors’ roster.